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Title details for New Deal or Raw Deal? by Burton W. Folsom, Jr. - Available

New Deal or Raw Deal?

How FDR's Economic Legacy Has Damaged America

by Burton W. Folsom, Jr.
Alan Sklar
Audiobook
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In this shocking and groundbreaking new book, economic historian Burton Folsom, Jr., exposes the idyllic legend of Franklin D. Roosevelt as a myth of epic proportions. With questionable moral character and a vendetta against the business elite, Roosevelt created New Deal programs marked by inconsistent planning, wasteful spending, and opportunity for political gain—ultimately elevating public opinion of his administration but falling flat in achieving the economic revitalization that America so desperately needed from the Great Depression. Folsom takes a critical, revisionist look at Roosevelt's presidency, his economic policies, and his personal life.


Elected in 1932 on a buoyant tide of promises to balance the increasingly uncontrollable national budget and reduce the catastrophic unemployment rate, the charismatic thirty-second president not only neglected to pursue those goals, he made dramatic changes to federal programming that directly contradicted his campaign promises. Price fixing, court packing, regressive taxes, and patronism were all hidden inside the alphabet soup of his popular New Deal, putting a financial strain on the already suffering lower classes and discouraging the upper classes from taking business risks that potentially could have jostled national cash flow from dormancy. Many government programs that are widely used today have their seeds in the New Deal. Farm subsidies, minimum wage, and welfare, among others, all stifle economic growth—encouraging decreased productivity and exacerbating unemployment.


Roosevelt's imperious approach to the presidency changed American politics forever, and as he manipulated public opinion, American citizens became unwitting accomplices to the stilted economic growth of the 1930s. More than sixty years after FDR died in office, we still struggle with the damaging repercussions of his legacy.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    June 18, 2009

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781400192649
      • File size: 326384 KB
      • Duration: 11:19:57

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Author Folsom rebukes the government's response to the economic crisis of 2008 and the Obama administration's efforts to alleviate its effects. Its main argument is that large government spending didn't work during the Great Depression of the 1930s, and it won't work now. Narrator Alan Sklar is an excellent choice to read and interpret this argument. He has a deep, resonant, slightly nasal tone that commands attention and reinforces the indignant tone of the work. He uses his voice to build tension and articulate the author's points, and he's adept at employing sarcasm, pauses, and controlled thunder to underscore the book's contentious passages. Sklar doesn't use any character voices, but they're not necessary to advance the book's thesis. R.I.G. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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